Love to the Rescue
by Isabella Rain
Summary: Kagome Higurashi has a secret that everyone knows, but no one talks about.She wants to escape from everything. She hopes that the silver haired stranger she runs into will be her savior in disguise. But people aren't always what they seem!
1. Unanswered Questions

Unanswered Questions

Sighing heavily, I open my eyes for the first time since the bus pulled up in front of school. Kids quickly start filing off of the bus, and I do the same, just following the flow of the crowd. Luckily, there is a breach in the crowd, giving me time to take in the three-story building looming above me, a building that would be my safe haven and prison for the next one hundred and eighty days.

Ducking my head back down, I start to maneuver my way through the crowds of kids that are trying to catch up with their friends after the summer vacation. For me though, that won't be the case, or maybe I'll get lucky and Sango will be here today. Normally, she tries to skip the first day of school; it's nothing but class explanations and syllabi anyway.

As I walk through the hallway to find my new locker, I can see the looks everyone is giving me and I can hear what they say once they think I'm out of earshot. "Isn't that the Higurashi girl?" Ignoring them, I hear my name being called. Quickly, I touch my face to make sure I'm smiling, and then look toward the voice. "Shippo?" I call, a real smile creeping across my face.

"Who else?" A red haired boy with the most brilliant green eyes says as he walks up to me and wraps me in a bone crunching hug. "I thought I wasn't going to see you this early in the day. Shouldn't you be down by the senior hallway, Kagome?"

Quickly, a blush rises to the surface of my cheeks. "I thought that was where I was headed." Laughing softly at my stupidity, I smile up at him. "Did you get taller freshman or is it just my imagination?"

"It's not your imagination." He chuckled. "I got stronger too, see?" Suddenly, he was a floating, pink ball in the air with small, round hands and enormous eyes. I clap smiling at the display of his strengthened youkai powers.

"Shippo Salidin!" A booming voice resonated down the hall causing Shippo to quickly change back to his old self.

"Yes, Mr. Nekosato?" He says with a big, innocent smile on his face as the neko-eared teacher walks up to him, his black hair tied back in a ponytail, and his purplish suit ironed and setting perfectly against him. "Is there a problem?"

"You know the rules Mr. Salidin, no using your abilities outside of the classroom or commons area! I'll give you this one as a warning since it's the first day of school, but don't let me catch you doing it again!"

"Yes sir." He says, mock saluting him.

"Good." Mr. Nekosato turns toward me. "And it looks like you have a good role model to watch after you. Keep an eye on him Ms. Higurashi." He says warmly and turns away just in time to catch other kids showing off their enhanced youkai abilities.

As we turn to look at each other, we burst out laughing. "Still the same old Mr. Nekosato. Have we figured out what his obsession with purple is?"

"No, but I think he really needs a new color." Shippo says as he grabs his stomach from laughing so hard.

Wiping a tear from my eye, I catch sight of the hallway clock. "Oh shoot! I've got to go Shippo!" I hug him tightly smiling. "I still have to find my locker."

He smiles at me and nods. "Need an escort? My first class is that way."

I smile warmly. "That would be great!" I put my arm through his and we head toward the senior hallway.

I look up at Shippo and wonder where these growth spurts came from. He used to be so short! It was like looking down on a five year old, and now, now you look up at him and you can't help but see a fully grown boy. His red hair was tied back in its usual ponytail at the nape of his neck; his used to be slightly plump body was now lean and muscular. His eyes were about the only thing on him that hadn't changed, they were still the vibrant green that she remembered them being.

As we approached my locker he looked down at me. "Kagome…" He said voice serious. "When are you going to tell me what happened at the end of last year." His question was a statement rather than a question, leaving no doubt he planned to find out what happened.

My mind reeled from his question, but I didn't want this to come up, not now, not the first day of school. As I tried to come up with an excuse, the bell rang. "Sorry Shippo, I have to get to class. Don't want to be late on the first day of school, now do we?" I said nervously.

"Yea, you're right." His usual smile came back, but it was obvious from the brief glimpse of disappointment in his eyes that he wanted to know the answer. I smiled back at him as we waved goodbye. "See you at lunch?" He asked.

"Of course, see you then Shippo." I replied waving, and then hurried into my class room and into a desk in the back.

Taking a deep breath I lay my head on my arms and try to clear my mind of the events that took place last spring. Slowly, I run my finger down a scar on my right arm, and then down another on my left. Shuddering, I try my best to block everything else out, until his voice penetrated my focus.

"Are you okay?" A strong voice said from behind me as a gentle hand rested on my back. I quickly turned around to see who the voice was coming from.

"Koga?" My eyes widened in surprise as a smile, for the second time today, spread across my face.

"The one and only, sweetheart." He said with his drawl. "I can't believe you didn't see me when you came in, but then again, you were kind of out of it." His smile softened. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"Nope, it was just pointless stuff." I said smiling back.

"Are you sure Kagome?" His face gets serious; almost the same way Shippo's did in the hallway. "If it was anything about-"

"Now class," The teacher instructed. "Today, we're just going to go over the class guidelines and such, that way if you want to-." The teacher continued to drone on, but I was grateful. Koga had leaned back in his chair as soon as the teacher started class and loosened up some with a, "We'll talk after class", and a smile. The smile scared me more than the talking after class.

Tuning the teacher out, I started absentmindedly drawing circles on my desk with my finger. Just as I would start to forget what everyone was asking me about, flames would appear in the rearview of my mind. Somehow I knew today was going to be a long first day.

Within a few minutes, the bell for classes to switch rang, and I was left wondering where the time went. Before I could process that it was time to leave, Koga was already at my side. He smiled down at me and motioned for me to come on. "You still haven't seen your locker yet, have you?" I shook my head and he rolled his eyes. "Same old Kagome I see."

"Haven't changed a lick." I said with a smile back up at him. As soon as I was out of my seat, his arm was around my waist guiding me to the door, almost protectively. As we got closer to the door, I noticed a tuff of red hair outside of it.

Outside of the door stood Shippo, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He looked almost like a god resurrected the way the light hit him. It was weird seeing him like that, I still hadn't adjusted to not seeing the short, bouncy Shippo. His nose twitched just slightly as I moved through the doorframe, and his eyes flew open at what I can only guess was my scent. "There you are Kagome." He said warmly with a smile, all traces of whatever he was just thinking gone. "And Koga, too." His voice wasn't as warm when he mentioned Koga, but I guess that's just a guy thing.

"Yup, it's me. Koga was just taking me to my locker, since I didn't get to see it earlier because of a red headed brat." I said jokingly with a smile on my face.

"Oh sure, blame the red head." He laughed. "Well, let's go see your locker before the red head makes you late again."

"Sounds good to me." I looked up at Koga and he smiled with a nod and began weaving through the hallway with me behind him and Shippo behind me. Koga had a hold of one of my hands, and Shippo had grabbed the other. It felt almost as though they were protecting me, but from what, I didn't know.

Suddenly, Koga stopped, causing me to run into him and Shippo into me. "Here we are!" He said joyously, pulling me around in front of him so I could see a gray locker with the numbers one-twenty-three on it.

Turning to Koga, I asked, "What's so great about this locker. You seemed like you were going to explode if I didn't get to see it."

"Because…" He turned to the locker on the left of mine and opened it. "It's right next to mine!"

"And mine." A familiar female voice said coming up from behind me.

"Sango!" I said joyously as I spun around and hugged my best friend. "Where were you this morning? And why are you here? You normally don't come on the first day."

"Whoa, whoa, missy." She said laughing as she hugged me back. "One question at a time!"

"Does she ever get that excited to see us?" Koga whispered to Shippo.

"No, I don't think so." He replied laughing slightly.

"Now, I'm at school because I wanted to see my bestie here." She said smiling. "And you know what they say about where I was this morning, better late than never."

I smiled. "Yea, I guess. I'm just glad you're here." I hugged her tighter then let go. Things felt better now that Sango was here. I missed my friend for the last few months, and I was just glad that I had her back.

It was odd how this first day of school felt different from all the others. None of us asked what we did over summer vacation, none of even mentioned last school year except for when they were asking me what happened, and everyone, even Sango, was eying me protectively, like something was going to jump out and eat me at any moment.

"Why are you guys staring at me like something's going to eat me?" I asked, finally getting annoyed with it. "I'm in school for Christ's sake! Surrounded by hundreds of youk-." Then I stopped myself. I'm surrounded by hundreds of demons, and anyone of them could be…

The three of them looked between themselves. "We just want to make sure nothing happens to you, Kagome." Koga finally said, steel in his voice.

"Yea," Sango said running her hand up and down my arm gently, "We just want to keep our favorite person in the world safe."

Shippo smiled sweetly down at me. "You're important to us Kagome, we just don't want to lose you, we've already been where we thought we had, and we don't want a repeat."

Tears sprang to my eyes and I felt overwhelmed by emotion. "Thanks guys. I love you too, but I think I need to go to the bathroom. Sango, will you tell the teacher where I am?" I said trying to keep the tears from overflowing. I did not want them to see me cry.

"Of course, but are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Sango, I'm positive." I laughed softly. "A girl needs her privacy. See you guys later." I gently kissed each of the boys' cheeks and headed off to the bathroom.

"Do you think she'll ever realize the gravity of the situation?" Koga said softly once I was out of earshot.

"No, or she already does and she wants to act like nothing happened." Sango replied.

"I'm betting on the latter, because she won't talk about it. I think she just wants to put it behind her and move on with her life, but we can still watch her back. Even with her miko powers…I don't think they'll be enough if they ever decide to come back."

All three of them looked down and then nodded at each other and dispersed to their classes.

Closing the bathroom door behind me, I slid down it to the floor and buried my face in my hands and let the tears flow. Everything was just so overwhelming. My friends protecting me, the questions everyone asks, and worse the looks of pity I get. I'm fine now. I'm alive. In one piece. Yea, I have a few scars, but it's nothing I can't live with! I just want to forget it all happened! I just want a normal life again, not one where I have to constantly watch my back. I just wish I had one person in my life that would give me that right now. Who knows, maybe I'll meet someone new…

Wiping my eyes as I leave the bathroom stall, I go over to the sink and splash water on my face to clear away all traces of redness so that I won't get questioned, but that probably won't work considering most of my classes are with people who see more than meets the eye. Sighing, I leave the bathroom once I'm satisfied with my masking job.

Looking down as I leave the bathroom, I don't even notice the silver haired man in front of me, who I graciously run into. As I start to fall back, I feel his arms wrap around me so I don't fall. I open my eyes and the first thing I notice are his brilliant orange-yellow eyes looking right at me. "Are you okay?" He asks in a warm voice.

"Y-Y-Yea." I stutter incoherently. Why am I stuttering? I never stutter!

He smiles at me and laughs softly. "Do you make a habit of running into people when you first meet them?" His arms still haven't let me go, but I don't think I really mind.

"No, not normally." I say smiling gently, still kind of awestruck.

"Well then I guess that makes me special."

"I guess so." A blush is quickly making its way over my face, making me feel warm from the inside out.

His face gets slightly serious. "Have you been crying?" One of his clawed hands run over my cheek, making all thought incoherent again.

"No, yes, maybe." I babble.

"Well, I think I'll take the yes for my answer. Why would a beautiful lady such as you be crying?" He asks genuinely concerned.

"It's nothing, really." I say, hoping he'll drop it. I really don't want to end up spilling my guts to this stranger that has my heart beating in my throat.

"Girls are entitled to their secrets, I suppose." He said jokingly. "I hope one day you will tell me."

I nod softly. "M-My name's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi." I manage.

He smiles. "My name's Inuyasha. I hope I'll see you again, Ms. Higurashi." Gently he unwraps his arms from around me and softly kisses my cheek. "Try not to run into any more people, some of them might not be as kind as me."

I nod gently. "I'll try." I say blushing from head to toe. Noticing for the first time as I get a better look at him, I see two dog ears on top of his head. "By the way, I like your ears." I say smiling.

He laughs and replies. "And I like your blush, Kagome." Which causes me to blush more as he turns and walks away; leaving me to wonder who this stranger is who I think just stole my heart.

_As I walked away, I looked back at the raven haired beauty. She looked nervously at the ground, unaware I was still watching her. She must be my assignment, he thought, a smile on his lips. "I think I could get used to this." He muttered to himself._

_It wasn't every day that Inuyasha Takahashi was assigned to a girl as pretty as her, or a girl in as big of a predicament as she was in. Girls her age don't get the world's most dangerous criminal chasing after them for being pretty. She was definitely a mystery to me, but, I'll gladly unravel the mystery around her if I can keep her. I lick my lips with a menacing smile on my face as I walk away from the blushing girl in the hallway._

AN: Thank you guys for reading. =) Please review and tell me what you think of it! I had to revise it, HAHA, I had absolutely no ideas for proceeding without it. =D


	2. Mixed Signals

I stood in the middle of the hallway stunned. Gorgeous guys do not kiss your cheek every day, especially not my cheek. "Wow." I mouthed breathlessly.

Shaking my head, I realize how silly I am. After everything that happened last spring, I shouldn't trust the first cute guy that walks up to me. Sighing and regaining my composure, I walk toward my class, holding my books close to my chest.

Thankful to the stranger for hiding my tear stains, I sneak through the door and slide into the seat next to Sango. "You took a while," She laughed, "What did you do run into a hot guy?"

A blush ran across my face even though I knew that she was joking. When I didn't laugh back, she looked over at me and gawked. "No way! Who was he? Do we know him?" She inquired, drinking in the redness on my face.

As I turned to answer, I caught sight of teacher walk in, and with him a head of silver hair. My jaw hung open as I realized what I was seeing. Sango, who was now confused, was looking around the room. "Is the guy you ran into in here? Is that why you're gawking like that?"

I nodded in a trance and pointed toward the silver haired man at the front of the room. "Him." I mumbled.

She looked around and then finally focused on Inuyasha. "The teacher? Whoa Kagome, I know you had a rough time last semester, but can't you stick with guys our own age." She laughed whole heartedly, getting attention from the people around us. "I'll support you no matter what you chose though, even if he is tall, dark and handsome."

I shook my head, trying to ignore her. I knew she thought I was joking, but I wasn't.

"Alright, I know this isn't your guy's favorite class, but we're going to have fun with it." Inuyasha began. On the blackboard behind him, he wrote his name and _Into to Youkai/Miko abilities._ "In this class we can't teach you any abilities, but we're going to teach you the basics of how to use the abilities that you already have, and mostly, how to defend yourself from any attacks presented to you."

He moved away from the chalk board and began walking around the classroom between the chairs. "None of you guys know whether or not you're going to be attacked at random on your way home from school. Whether someone is going to jump you right outside the school doors. Or even, come after you in your own home." His eyes met mine as he said the last sentence, almost boring straight into my soul. Instantly, I knew he knew what had happened to me. And I was pissed about it.

I curled my hands into fists on the desktop in front of me and clenched my jaw. No one seemed to notice I was angry, but he seemed to try and seek me out through his lecture.

As he walked by my desk, he would subtly run his hand along my back like he was touching the back of my chair. And he would purposefully call on me when questions about miko's were presented. He could get away with it because I was the one of two mikos in the whole school but he asked a lot of questions regarding our powers. I felt humiliated by the time that the bell rang an hour later.

Sango was amused, but didn't have a chance to dog me about it because she had a class she had to rush to. She gave me a hug and hurried away as the rest of the students rushed out the door.

Furious, I clutched my hands to my sides and walked up to the silver haired hunk that was looking at me with his arms folded over his chest, amused. "What was that!" I fumed at him. "How do you know what happened." The last part lost most of the momentum that it had because it scared me slightly that he knew and I wanted to know how he did.

"Calm down." He purred softly, his ears twitching. He stepped forward and gently stroked my arm. It didn't feel creepy, it felt almost comforting. "Word gets around in a school as small as this, and I'm sorry if the way I phrased bothered you. I'm sorry." He cooed.

I looked at him. His eyes seemed sincere enough, but I was scared to believe him. It felt like he knew too much. But something deep inside me felt like it wanted to fall into him and believe every word he said.

"Kagome?" I heard from the doorway.

"I'm in here still, Koga." I said turning toward the worried man standing in the doorway. He looked dishelmed, like he had been running around the school looking for me.

He smiled when he saw me, but faltered slightly as the smell of the Inu Youkai struck him. Protectively, he wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and pulled me close to him as he looked directly at Inuyasha, sizing him up. "Sorry to interrupt, Kagome." He said gently pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I could feel a growl vibrating in his chest and against my head where he had kissed me.

Looking at Inuyasha, I noticed that he, too, was sizing up Koga. His body was bristled and vibrating as he stared at him standing beside me.

Confused, I shook my head. "It's fine, Koga." I looked up at Inuyasha and smiled. "Thanks for everything." I tried to say encouragingly, all of my anger gone at the sight of how ruffled he was by Koga's appearance.

Taking his eyes off of Koga, he looked at me and gave me a breathtaking smile. "Anytime Ms. Higurashi. My door is always open for you to come and talk to me."

When I wasn't looking, he shot a smirk at Koga like I had told him some dirty secret and turned to wipe down the board. Furious, Koga softly squeezed my side and escorted me out of the classroom and toward the gym where our next class was.

It was eerie walking down the empty hallway, but it didn't bother me, it was better than having people staring at me. Exhausted from everything that had happened today, I leaned my head against him as we walked. He wrapped his arm tighter around me and smiled warmly. "I've gotcha babe." He mumbled. I closed my eyes, knowing that he would guide me safely to our class.

My thoughts drifted as soon as the blackness shrouded around me. I didn't know what to think about this relationship me and Koga have. It should be awkward considering that he's my ex-boyfriend and all, but I feel that he, Shippo, and Sango are the only ones I have now. They may pry a little more than the other people around me, but at least I know that they have good intentions and aren't trying to get a little piece of gossip to spread around. These three are the closest thing I have to family now, and I don't know what I would do without them. They're the only ones who can bring out a smile from me, oh wait…

I opened my eyes quickly, but tried to keep my pace even so that Koga wouldn't notice anything odd. That's a lie. I chastise myself. Inuyasha made me smile today in the hall. Does that mean something? Does that mean that he's getting to me; penetrating the thick wall around me?

Mentally steeling myself, I whisper in my head, "I won't let him get close to me. It's too strange that he knows so much…" But is it really strange that he knows what he does? The teachers do know a little more than the students do about the situation, but it still makes me uncomfortable that he knows.

Sighing, I shake off the voices in my head and look up at Koga again as we step into the gym. "Thank you." I whisper so softly that human ears wouldn't pick it up.

"Anything for you, Kags." He says warmly and squeezes me again and kisses the top of my forehead. "Now, let's get to the bleachers before he starts roll call."

Nodding, I shoot him a genuine smile and walk over with him, grasping his hand in mine.

_I had known that the wolf was going to be a problem, but as long as he doesn't ask questions he'll be fine. I need to get the girl to trust me; my lecture seemed to unease her more than anything. I guess I should have watched what I was saying more. I wipe off the chalkboard with an eraser, ignoring the chalk dust that's getting on my black shirt. _

_I sigh impatiently and sit down at my desk. This girl was definitely a mystery, and the fact that she has a bodyguard around her is going to make my job insanely difficult, but I don't want to startle her. I'll do this process slowly. Make her trust me first, but how do I do that without scaring her away in the process. _

_He smiled a warm, yet dark smile as he pulled a locket out from under his v-neck shirt. Opening it, his face softened as he looked at the picture of two kids, one older with silver hair, and the other, a young girl with raven hair and a bright smile on her face. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and she had her arms around his neck. _

_Closing the locket with a 'click', he tucked away inside of his shirt again. "I'll have you again, my Kagome."_


End file.
